The 10 best supercars to buy in 2024

Aston Martin Vantage

The new Aston Martin Vantage signalled a return to form for the company, sporting the power and dynamics expected of the breed along with a new interior that – finally – looks befitting of a car costing more than £150,000. Even the looks, granted a subjective variant, blend effortless style with the big-muscle brawn of the 177 hypercar, making this Aston, like most Astons, a fabulously good-looking machine. 

It’s also a very quick car. The Aston-fettled Mercedes-AMG twin-turbocharged V8 offers up 665PS (489kW) and 800Nm (590lb ft) of torque to its transaxle via an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, all of which translates to 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds, 0-124mph in 10.1 seconds and a 202mph top speed, with a mid-range, where the Porsche’s four-wheel drive counts for less, that can lawd it over a 911 Turbo S. Porsche should also be worried about the way the new Vantage handles, with a perfect 50:50 weight distribution and electronic wizardry from the car’s e-diff and torque vectoring, it has a grippy fluidity that’s highly adjustable on the throttle. Yet it blends this with decent ride comfort and cabin refinement. It could be the best sports car Aston’s ever built. 

Ferrari 12Cilindri

Just when you thought time was up for the naturally aspirated V12 Ferrari, along comes the 12Cilindri with a 6.5-litre unblown V12 that produces 830PS (610kW) and 678Nm (500lb ft) at a screaming 9,250rpm. Like some of the best Ferraris, including predecessors like the 550 Maranello and 599 GTB, the 12Cilindri’s looks court controversy thanks to the black panel that stretches across its face, which is supposed to make it look neither smiling nor frowning. Like with the 365 Daytona, we suspect time will be kind to the 12Cilindri. Even now, it bawls ‘GT’ thanks to a bonnet like a supertanker's bow, beefy hunches and a chopped rear end. 

If you can believe, given that it gets from 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds and tops out at 211mph, the 12Cilindri isn’t all about raw performance. It’s a car you can enjoy at normal speeds with perfectly judged control weights, a comfortable ride, excellent brake feel and steering that’s both incisive and quick. But the engine’s the star. Its responses are razor sharp, and Ferrari has worked on the torque curve to make the performance more accessible in third and fourth gear. It feels less ragged than the 812 Superfast it replaces, but performance is even more vivid, leaving you to ask the question – can you ever really use it on the road? 

Aston Martin Vanquish 

Lawrence Stroll’s acquisition of Aston Martin has pumped the company full of money and brought a lineup of cars that requires no excuses, and the new Vanquish is the finest example of that. It looks phenomenal, but not as phenomenal as the performance served up by its 824PS (606kW) 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine.

That engine means the Aston is good for 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds and an outrageous 214mph top speed, but the torque is the real talking point. It develops 1,000Nm (737lb ft) from just 2,500rpm for flexibility that makes a contortionist look arthritic while producing a guttural growl that would send a pride of lions scattering. The Vanquish feels direct and energetic with a bonded aluminium chassis and carbon fibre non-structural body panels, steam roller tyres, and a solidly mounted steering column. Still, it’s also comfortable, which is not always true of the new Vantage. 

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Again you’ll struggle to get one new from Porsche in 2024 if your order wasn’t already in a year ago but this thing is absolutely worth it. Why? The crazy enormous active aero? It’s cool, but no. That screaming, cammed 9,000rpm 4.0-litre flat six? It’s delicious, but no. No, the genius of the new GT3 RS is in its chassis and its adjustable suspension, which can be adjusted to be a more comfortable, more compliant road car than most other 911s. If you thought that was backwards, consider the fact that you can only access that adjustability in ‘Track Mode’. Regardless, it’s a lightning-in-a-bottle moment, even for Porsche, which has a habit of making truly irritatingly exceptional performance cars. And to anyone that say’s it’s not a supercar, boo. Why do you hate fun? It has the drama, it has the track performance, it has the specialty appointment.

Ferrari SF90 XX

It's potentially not a glowing endorsement that the plug-in hybrid SF90 – a car that hasn’t exactly rung petrolhead's bells – has been sent for a dusting of magic from the company’s XX programme, usually reserved for its most extreme track cars. But, as it turns out, Ferrari owners don't want a supercar that weighs a ton (1.6 tons, actually) and moves silently, and even a 1,000PS (735kW) can’t change that.

So the XX is here to reinject the ‘Ferrari’ into the company’s PHEV supercar. That power has increased by just 30PS (22kW) is almost reassuring – Ferrari hasn’t just flung horses at the problem. Instead, it’s ramped up the noise, went over the suspension with a fine tooth comb, and piled on the downforce, adding 540kg more than you get in the standard car at 155mph. The XX also gets from 0-62mph in 2.3 seconds and tops out at 199mph. The result is a car that is phenomenally quick on track and road and isn’t as one-dimensional as the regaulr SF90. Still, the XX’s weight can make it feel unruly in corners, and the sense that technology has become an intermediary in your connection with the car remains. 

Maserati MC20 Cielo

It feels weird to say that the Maserati MC20 with its high-tech Nettuno V6 is one of the most old-school supercars you can buy new today, but it's true. That engine might feature F1 tech but it has all the bluster and bravado of a Jaguar XJ220. Its 630PS (463kW) is delivered with addictive savagery and is paired with a truly delectably set-up chassis. On the outside, it's typically Maserati in its amalgamation of beauty and elegance but also drama. We recommend the Cielo for its delightful buttresses alone.

McLaren 750S

McLaren is on absolute top form right now. The Artura is an astonishing, life-afirming supercar that reassures us the future isn't all bad. With that said, right now, you want the 750S if nothing but a car from Woking will do. Why? Because it's supposedly the de-bug compilation album of everything great about both the 720S and 765LT, with expertly-judged levels of aggression and refinement. It's also potentially the swansong for McLaren's outstanding V8 engine, with tuned vocals specifically for this car. It's also refreshingly old-school in that it's not hybridised and therefore, not heavy. This thing is hundreds of kgs down on certain rivals. A delight.

Corvette C8 Z06

Of course if you really want old-school supercar, weirdly, you need a Corvette in 2024. The Z06 after all is the car that its maker Chevrolet openly admits is doing its best Ferrari 458 impression, with its DOHC, flat-plain crank 5.5-litre V8 that screams up to 8,600rpm. It also has the honour of being the most powerful series production naturally-aspirated V8 yet made. Happily, the car around the engine is reportedly very good too and we can all agree, the Z06 visual upgrades have done wonders compared to the somewhat gawky standard C8. The cherry on top? You can now get it in right-hand-drive.

Ferrari 296 GTB

Traditional Ferrari road cars use front-mounted V12s and the latest 812 Superfast is a brazen modern expression of this long history, blurring the lines between supercar and GT. But mid-engined machines are also a staple of the range and the models that spring to mind when you think ‘Italian supercar’. The 296 GTB properly changes things up after 13 years of the same basic 458-derived platform and V8 engines, with its hybridised twin-turbo V6 and monster 830PS (610kW) output. Yet in spite of that near hypercar-level power, the 296 is an ally to your ego, deftly deploying its performance potential in a way that doesn’t overwhelm. Don’t get us wrong, it’s otherworldly fast when you really open the taps, but it’s delivered in a more accessible package than you’d have thought possible. It’s pretty too.

McLaren Artura

Don’t sleep on the Artura. This is genuinely a properly thrilling, infinitely fascinating and reassuring supercar. The latter point? Well, it’s proof that hybridity can be fun, given its twin-turbo V6 engine that’s been designed specifically to work with electric power, is one of the most addictive internal combustion engines of recent memory. It’s also indicative of McLaren learning lessons, with a vastly more progressive attitude thanks to revised rear suspension and the transformative addition of a limited-slip diff. If you love your driving, this is right up there.